


Destiny

by Drowmonk



Category: DC Cinematic Universe, RWBY, Wonder Woman (2017)
Genre: Crossover, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-21
Updated: 2017-07-21
Packaged: 2018-12-04 22:06:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,611
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11564277
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Drowmonk/pseuds/Drowmonk
Summary: Pyrrha Nikos thought she had died, instead she finds herself in a hospital on earth, her injuries from her fight with Cinder bandaged but still raw. Lost and alone, worried about what happened after her fight with Cinder, Pyrrha makes a new friend, a woman of wonderful power that may give her a purpose. Something to keep fighting for.





	Destiny

_“Do you believe in destiny?”_

\-------------------------------------------

_“Ma’am! Calm down! Damn it! She won’t stop struggling! Where’s that sedative? Thank you!”_

\-------------------------------------------

_“She came in wearing that? Is it Halloween?”_

_“No, she must be a cosplayer or something, look at the metalwork though, this almost looks like it’d stop a real sword.”_

_“Anyone know how she got burned? Or how she ended up with glass next to her heart and in her ankle?”_

_“No. The EMTs said that people said she just stumbled out of an alley ranting about having to stop her. Nobody knows who ‘her’ is. Every time she wakes up the machines go nuts and last time she pulled her IV out. We’ve got a Psychiatrist in the room with her for when she wakes up again. Poor girl.”_

\-------------------------------------------

_"Yes."_

“No!” I jump awake, white walls all around me, machines beeping. I feel weak, like I’ve been drugged. My right eye is covered in what I assume is a bandage. I feel an itch in my arm, there’s an IV in it. I reach over without thinking.

“Please don’t pull it out again miss. You very nearly hurt yourself last time.” I turn and see a blonde woman sitting next to the bed I’m on, she’s wearing a suit and has a book on her lap, like she was reading before I woke up. Where am I? A hospital? This doesn’t look like Vale.

“What do you mean again? How long have I been here? Did Beacon fall? Is Ozpin alive? What about the Dragon? Did we kill it?”

The woman gives me an odd look. “You’re very confused, this is the first time you’ve been calm enough to answer questions. You were wearing very convincing armor, are you a role player? Did you come back from a game and get mugged? Try and focus on what really happened.”

“Game? You mean I’m not in Vale? You didn’t see the Grimm destroying the school?”

She’s taken out a notepad. “And which school would this be, miss?” She raises an eyebrow.

“Nikos, my name is Pyrrha Nikos. I’m a student at Beacon Academy, there was an attack and I want to know if my friends and teachers are alive!” My eyes burn as my vision blurs. I feel a gentle hand on my shoulder and I lean into her and cry.

“Shh, it’s okay. You’re safe here, nobody is going to hurt you.”

\------------------------------------------

_“I fear she may have suffered a mental breakdown after she was attacked detective. She believes a woman who threw fireballs and worked with a dragon attacked her, using arrows made of glass. That last part we can confirm at least, whomever did this left these in her, they’re arrowheads, but they’re obsidian, volcanic glass.”_

_“So you’re saying she’s too crazy to answer our questions? You sure she’s not telling the truth? At least a little? Been some weird stuff happening lately, flying men and women, aliens, why not a fire throwing woman with a dragon?”_

_“If you want to waste your time I won’t stop you, but if she starts to panic I’ll have to ask you to leave detective Montoya. She’s in a delicate state, mentally.”_

_“Understood.”_

\----------------------------------------------------

I hear the door open and I look up to see a dark skinned woman with black hair and a police badge of some kind on her belt, next to a compact gun. “Hello miss Nikos, I’m detective Montoya, would you mind answering some questions about who attacked you?”

She places a small recording device on the bedside table and pulls out a notepad from her jacket. I sigh, they won’t believe me. Where the hell am I? “You won’t believe me, I’ve read enough in the newspaper the nurses brought in that this isn’t my home. It’s not Vale, Mystral, Vacuo, it’s not even Remnant as far as I can tell! I need to get back home! I have to save my friends!”

I try and stand up but Montoya pushes me down. “Easy there Pyrrha, you’re still not one hundred percent. You had a arrow inches from your heart a few days ago, you need time to heal. Trust me, I know what happens when you go off when you aren’t ready.”

I sigh and slump back onto the bed, I hate this. “I heal faster than you may think. But fine, I’ll answer your questions, just promise me you won’t assume I’m crazy, that you’ll listen to me? The doctors think I’m insane.”

She stands back and gives me a small nod. “I’ve seen enough crazy stuff lately to not assume anything. We’ve got alien invasions, why not a teenager from another dimension who fights dragons?”

I manage to smile despite myself. “Well I didn’t actually fight the dragon, I was busy trying to defeat Cinder, the woman who burned me and shot me in the heart.” The doctors say I’ll have a scar on my cheek from the burns, a permanent reminder of where Cinder touched me. The Maiden’s powers pulsing out of her.

“What do you know about this Cinder? She has power over fire?”

This woman seems to be taking me more seriously than the doctors. “At the very least, she stole the power of the… Look, even I have a hard time believing some of what happened detective. She has magic at her command and I couldn’t stop her. All my training and abilities, and still I lost to her.”

She raises an eyebrow. “What sort of training and abilities?”

I take a deep breath, to steady myself. “I’m training to be a Huntress, to fight to protect the world from Grimm and any who would cause it harm.” I pause looking over at the spoon from my dinner, if it can be called that. “As for abilities…” I reach out and pull the spoon towards me with my Semblance.

I look over and Montoya is wide-eyed. Then she smiles at me and pats my shoulder. “I knew you were telling the truth! The shrink owes me a beer.”

“I’m sorry?”

She shakes her head. “Never mind. Congrats on being bumped up to the weird squad instead of crazy though!”

“So… You believe me?” I feel my eyes water and I close them, and sigh in relief as I feel the tears burn and start falling down my face.

I feel a hand on my shoulder I open my blurry eyes to see Montoya smiling at me. “I believe you, I have enough to start your file, the shrink took good notes of your conversations, so I have a place to start, but the capes might have to finish this one. I’ll make some calls, see if we can get you home, okay?”

I let out a breath I didn’t know I was holding. “Thank you detective.”

She pats me on the shoulder and walks to the door. “You’re welcome Pyrrha. Get some rest.”

\----------------------------------------

_“When Montoya said she was calling in the capes I thought we’d get the Bat!”_

_“Apparently he answered at first, but turned it over to her.”_

_“Did I ever tell you I had a crush on her?”_

_“Had or have?”_

_“Shut up.”_

\---------------------------------------------

I feel awkward in my armor, the nurses offered to give me some “scrubs” but they’ve done enough for me, and besides I have nowhere to carry my armor otherwise. I’ll have to settle for the weird looks I’m going to get here. I feel even more out of sorts without Milo and Akouo, my friends, my sword and shield. I crafted them myself, but Cinder killed them before she shot me. I run my hand over the fresh scar on my chest, just above my armor. Never again. If I get back- _When_ I get back, I’m going to defeat her. At least my ankle didn’t suffer anything permanent, I can walk around just fine now.

I hear a knock on the door. “Miss Nikos? May I enter?”

Something in me makes me stand up straighter before answering. “Come on in!”

When the door opens I feel my jaw drop. The woman who enters my room is gorgeous, black hair and dark eyes, wearing armor of red, blue and gold, and she has a glowing cord on her hip, her lower legs and forearms are armored and she’s wearing a circlet. I’m reminded of my own missing headpiece, another thing Cinder took from me. “Hello Pyrrha Nikos, Defender of Vale, I am Diana, Princess of Themyscira and Defender of Earth. I greet you as a fellow warrior.” She speaks with an accent I can’t place, different from the others here. Then she puts her right hand over her chest in a salute.

I mirror the gesture. “Hello. I have to say, I’m glad to see I’m not the only one in this world that wears armor.”

She smiles at me and I feel better than I have since my fight with Cinder. “I thought you might. I’m here to help you, to get you home if it is possible, to find you a place in this world if it is not.”

“Thank you. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, how to proceed, this world is similar in some ways, but alien in others.”

Diana smiles at me and nods. “I felt the same way when I left Themyscira to stop the Great War. I can teach you its ways, simply ask and I’ll answer any questions you may have, no matter how silly you think they are.”

“Thank you. I’m eager to get out of this room, I’ve been stuck in here for weeks.”

Diana nods. “Then let us finish the paperwork with the doctors and get you out of these sterile halls and into the real world.”

\--------------------------------------------------

_“Who’s the kid with Wonder Woman?”_

_“Inter-dimensional traveler of unknown origin.”_

_“Why are you so stiff man? Loosen up for once!”_

_“She’s an unknown, until we can verify her story I’m going to consider her a potential threat.”_

_“She’s just a kid!”_

_“A kid with superpowers and advanced martial training.”_

\-------------------------------------------------

I smile, feeling how familiar the grip of a sword and the weight of a shield are. Diana has her own sword and shield, when I mentioned I missed my weapons she insisted on sparing with me. “Don’t hold back Pyrrha, I want to see what you can do.” With that she rushes for me.

I block and parry her blows, I get a feel for the metal, I go low, sweeping her legs with mine. She jumps over the attack and I have to twist out of the way of her sword as it comes down. I use my spin to attack with my shield, she parries it with her blade and I do a quick jab with my sword at her chest. She blocks it with her shield and backs up, resetting the fight. She comes at me again, I wonder if I should use my semblance, she said not to hold back. I don’t want to lose control, last time I killed Penny. Her blade rests on my throat.

“You hesitated. Why?”

“I’m sorry. The last time I…” My throat closes and I feel tears on my face. Diana pulls me into a hug, she doesn’t say anything just lets me work through this. “The last time I sparred with someone I lost control. An illusion made it look like a thousand swords were going to impale me. I reacted, and it killed her. I, killed her.” My voice breaks as I admit it to myself.

She rubs my back and pats my hair. “I understand. I’ve done things, seen things, that I regret. There is no easy way forward Pyrrha Nikos. You just have to keep moving forward, no matter how hard it gets.”

I pull out of the hug and see pure kindness on her face, it reminds me of my mother. “Thank you. I’m sorry I’m such a mess.”

She shakes her head. “Never be sorry for having compassion. If you wall off the part of you that feels compassion you end up becoming cold, distant and no help to anyone. Least of all yourself. Your empathy makes you strong, your enemy can take many things from you, never let it be your soul.”

I smile. “That’s one thing I know I still have, my aura still protects me, strong as ever.”

She turns her head to the side. “Explain. What is this ‘aura’ you speak of?”

I smile, remembering explaining this to Jaune, oh Jaune. “It’s the extension of the soul, it can be focused and can protect the trained from harm.” I touch my cheek where I feel the scarred flesh. “It’s not infinite of course, but without it many fatal wounds would have been just that. All Huntsmen and Huntresses know how to use aura, do you not have that training here?”

She shakes her head. “We have people with special gifts that can resist or heal damage, but it’s not a common thing, and it cannot be trained.” She places a hand on my shoulder. “Come, that’s enough training for today. Let us go see if our scientists have figured out anything about where you came from and how to get you back there.”

I nod. “That would be nice. As kind as you’re being I still want to get home to my family and friends.”

Diana takes me to a room with lots of computers using solid screen interfaces, not the holograms more often used at home. I see a man dressed all in black, his face covered talking to a pale skinned man dressed in red and gold. “-and you’re sure about this?”

The one in red shrugs. “As sure as I can be. This was theoretical stuff before miss Nikos showed up, I have more concrete data on the effects of time travel than I do inter-dimensional anomalies.” 

Diana speaks up and the men turn towards us. “Have you found something Flash? Something to help Pyrrha get back home perhaps?”

“Found something? Yes. Can it get her home? Doubtful. Whatever happened to bring her here only left a trace amount of radiation on her. Even with Star Labs’ finest computers and scanners there isn’t enough data on the energy to replicate the same frequency and intensity that brought her here. At best I can try and scan for any new openings, but even if one shows up it’s unlikely such a event will be able to be used in time to send her back.”

I look down and I feel my body slump, I grip my left arm in my right hand. “So I’m stuck here. Forever.” I look up when Diana puts her arm on my shoulder, she looks at me in sympathy.

Flash clears his throat. “It’s not all bad miss Nikos! We did find trace amounts of the same energy signature about half a mile from where the paramedics picked you up. Given the distance and the timing I doubt it’s where you came through, but maybe someone else followed you. It’d give us more information to go off of…” He pauses seeing my face. “What?”

“The school was being attacked by Grimm! If one of them came through it could wreak havoc here!”

The one in black, Batman I think, speaks up. “How dangerous are we talking about? I shouldn’t think one monster would be that much of a problem.”

I shake my head. “It’s alien to this world! For all we know killing it will just make things worse! Grimm turn into vapor when they die, then they reform elsewhere, or at least that’s the prevailing theory. In a few years there could be hundreds of Grimm, decades there could be thousands!”

Batman nods. “So we need to contain it without destroying it. Flash any ideas?”

He shrugs again. “Hell if I know! I’ve never heard of a creature like this, I guess we could seal it in an airtight jar? Would that work miss Nikos?”

I shake my head. “I was training to kill them. They already outnumber every other species on Remnant, keeping them from turning into more was pointless. I don’t know if you can contain their vapors or not.”

Diana nods to the Flash. “Scan for this energy, we need to find whatever came though, and hope it’s not one of these Grimm. If it is, Pyrrha and I will try and capture it.”

Batman narrows his eyes. “You sure about that Wonder Woman? Taking this kid on such a dangerous mission?”

I cut Diana off from defending me. “I have been training to fight these things since I was twelve. I can handle it. If it was a large Grimm you would have heard about its attack already. My guess is that it’s just a Beowolf or a Boarbatusk, nothing I haven’t dealt with before.”

He grunts. “I don’t like the idea of sending a teenager into a combat situation. That may be normal where you’re from miss Nikos, but here it’s a war crime.”

I put my hands on my hips, and look right into his eyes. “Be that as it may, I am still the only one here that knows how to fight Grimm, you need me, whether you like it or not.”

We’re just glaring at each other when Flash chips in. “Uh, hate to break this up, but this will have to wait. Police are reporting a giant black bear covered in bone is attacking downtown.”

Diana sighs. “We should help them, knowing the police they’ll kill the poor thing if we don’t step in. Who covers a bear in bones?”

I shake my head. “That’s not a bear. It’s a Grimm, it’s called an Ursa, it’s somewhat bigger than I thought could have followed me here.”

Diana claps me on the shoulder. “It’s time to move then, take a sword and shield from the training room and meet me at the hanger Pyrrha.”

I nod. “Right.”

\------------------------------------------

_“Backup! We need Backup! It’s not a normal bear! Our bullets are just bouncing off of it!”_

\------------------------------------------

Diana and I share a look before we jump from her invisible aircraft, right in front of the Ursa. It’s an Ursa Major, bigger, meaner and more spikes. “Careful! It’s an old Grimm, they get stronger the longer they survive. This one looks decades old!” I shout as we move to defend the police and fleeing civilians.

“I have an idea to contain it! Keep it distracted Pyrrha! I’m going to tie it down!”

“Got it!” I move in front of the beast and start slashing at it, keeping it focused on me and not anyone else. As it swipes at me with its claws I block and parry it, using the force of each blow to propel me in the direction of the hit. Diana is nearly in position her lasso is ready, then a flash of a camera draws the beast’s attention to the side, then it sees her sneaking up on it. “Jump!” I yell as I try and pull it’s attention off of her.

The Ursa swipes at her just as she jumps, narrowly missing her feet. That was too close. It turns around and I nearly get my head taken off by its backhanded swipe. Now I’m too close, I need to get some distance, I throw my shield at its face, more to distract it than to do harm. Then I jump back from its return swipes and will my shield back to me.

I see a gold rope bind its forelimbs together, then I see Diana flying over it, wrapping the lasso around its body. She pulls it down but it’s not fully contained, the rear legs are digging holes into the asphalt. I see a broken street lamp off to the side. I use my semblance to move it, then wrap it around the Ursa’s rear legs, binding them. “There! We’ve got it contained! We need to get it into a airtight chamber now! Before it kills itself!” I shout over the sirens and the Ursa’s roars.

“Can’t we knock it out? I can’t think of anything we have that can contain it when it’s struggling like this!” Diana yells back as I move more metal debris to take the place of her Lasso.

I shake my head. “They never sleep! Grimm can only be killed, or captured for a brief time before they disintegrate to be remade!”

Just then a green light envelops the Ursa, I look up and see a man in a green and black jumpsuit, with dark skin and hair, he waves at us. “I thought I could be of assistance ladies, though it looks like you had it handled. What’s this about keeping it in a airtight chamber? I got you covered.”

Diana smiles. “Thank you Lantern. Please maintain that barrier and take it to the Watchtower. If any part of this creature escapes it could doom this world.”

He salutes her. “You got it! One scary monster delivery coming up! Fill me in later with the details alright Wonder Woman? Nice to meet you Golden Girl!”

I smile and wave him goodbye. Then I’m shocked to see reporters all around me, cameras flashing in my face and microphones held forward. _“Golden Girl! Are you related to Wonder Woman? Did you bring that thing here? Golden Girl! Are you also an Amazon? Golden Girl!”_ Their questions are relentless, I can’t think to answer one before another takes its place.

Diana pushes through them to my side. “She’s training with me, she’s a hero, and that’s all you need to know about her right now. Submit a formal inquiry to the Justice League if you want to know more than that, thank you!” With that Diana grabs me and jumps, taking us into her aircraft and away from the crush of people. “Sorry about that Pyrrha, I’m just glad I got there before they started asking if you’re dating anyone or who does your makeup.”

I raise an eyebrow. “That hardly seems relevant next to a Grimm attack.”

She chuckles as we fly back to the Watchtower. “I know. Batman and the rest of the league don’t get those questions. Just me and any other woman who does the job.”

I shake my head. “That sounds exhausting.”

She nods. “It is.”

“Diana, who was that man in green that contained the Grimm?”

“Oh, that was John Stewart, the Green Lantern. He helps protect this planet from extraterrestrial threats.”

I shake my head. “I’m still amazed you’ve managed to leave your planet. On Remnant every dust-powered rocket we’ve launched fails when it leaves the atmosphere.”

“What is this dust you speak of? Some kind of fuel?”

I stare at her for a second. “You don’t have dust here? Raw elemental energy? Fire, ice, lightning? It’s what has kept humans and faunus alive against the Grimm? You don’t have that here?”

She shakes her head. “No, we do not. What are these faunus you mentioned?”

“Oh, I guess you don’t have them here either. They’re a race of people with animal traits, such as extra ears, tails and so on. They’re just like humans really, doesn’t stop people from treating them like second class citizens.”

“Ugh, I hate bigots.” She points out the window. “We’re back, I hope the boys have found a way to contain that, Ursa, you called it?”

I nod. “Yes, a Grimm that size would surely be the start of a plague on your world. I’d hate to see that happen. It’s only through constant vigilance and natural defenses that the four kingdoms have survived against the Grimm. There are more people now than ever, over three hundred million the last time we did a census.”

We’ve docked but Diana is looking at me in shock. “Wait, your world only has that many people on it? Truly?”

I feel a bit taken aback. “Well, yes. Why? How many people are on this earth, as you call it?”

“Over seven billion.” 

I start laughing, but she looks serious. “Wait, really? Seven billion? You’re talking people right? Not how much money they have?”

“Yes. I didn’t know these Grimm were as bad as that. We really need to make sure our Ursa doesn’t escape.”

“Of course.”

\----------------------------------------------------------

_“No one knows who this Golden Girl is, only that she helped Wonder Woman and the Green Lantern stop a rampaging monster of unknown origin from attacking the city.”_

_“If you have an idea about who Golden Girl is, hop on over to our website and vote in the poll!”_

\----------------------------------------------------------

“You’re telling me this thing and that girl that was with Wonder Woman are from the same alternate dimension? World keeps getting weirder.” I see Green Lantern talking to the Flash and Batman.

The Flash is checking the readouts on the computers. “As near as I can tell they are. But like miss Nikos the energy readings are faint. That either means that it doesn’t take much energy to get here, which is worrying to say the least. Or that it takes a lot and it just dissipates quickly, which is a mixed bag. The latter would mean it’s going to be next to impossible to return her home, but we likely won’t have any more of them showing up at random either.”

“So you’re saying I’m either stuck here and that’s good for your world, or I’m not and you could be facing a unstoppable horde of monsters?” I sit down in a chair near Flash.

He nods as he keeps pouring over the data. “That about sums it up. Not sure which I want to be honest, I’d love to get you home, but if not getting you home means billions of people aren’t in danger of dying…”

“You’ll take it. I understand, and if that is the choice I’ll gladly stay here. All my life I’ve worked toward being a hero, a guardian. I won’t endanger a whole world just to get back to my own.”

Batman speaks next. “Well thanks to Green Lantern you have a name in this world as a hero now. People are speculating about who ‘Golden Girl’ is, and I don’t feel like telling them.”

John rubs the back of his head. “Sorry about getting you stuck with that name. Shouldn’t have made a joke in front of the press like that.”

I smile. “It’s fine. Back home they called me ‘the Invincible Girl’ it was never true, I hated that name, it made people afraid to challenge me.” I gesture towards my facial scar to prove how inaccurate that name was. “Enough about me, is the Ursa contained? Will its vapor form be able to escape?”

The Flash turns to me. “We’ve done all we can. Airtight chamber, even helium can’t get out. Then we have a energy field around that, just in case it’s not wholly corporeal. It’s a precaution that’s making it hard to study it, but if it’s as bad as you say where you’re from I’m not taking any chances with it.”

“Good.” I suppress a yawn. “Sorry, I’m just really tired, taking it alive is harder than killing them. Do you have guest quarters I can stay in?”

Diana puts her hand on my shoulder. “I’ll take you Pyrrha.” She turns to the men. “I’ll be back to brief you on some things, in case we find more of these Grimm.”

Batman nods. “Understood. Rest well miss Nikos, thank you for your help today.”

I smile. “You’re welcome.”

\---------------------------------------------------

_“Teenage superheroes now? Bad enough we have men and women running around in their underwear. Now we’ve got girls in miniskirts going around and flashing their panties too!”_

_“That’s a bit reductive Steve, yes the skirt is a bit shorter than I’d like to see my daughter in, but she’s not flashing anyone. She was defending the city from that monster.”_

_“There was a monster? You can’t tell based on the internet! It’s full of horny men drooling over her!”_

_“I didn’t say I was happy about how people fixate on her looks!”_

_“You just ignore them like always.”_

_“You have a better idea Steve?”_

_“No Cat, I don’t.”_

\----------------------------------------------------

_I can feel the arrow in my chest, the pain is unbearable. I look on helplessly as Cinder caresses my cheek. Then there’s a flash and pain shoots through me._

“No!” I’m in a dark room. I fumble for a light. I can feel my heart beating, the memory fresh in my mind. I felt like I died, maybe I did. I feel the scar on my chest, then the one on my cheek. No, not dead, but damn close. I’m not getting back to sleep, so I get dressed in some loose pants and a t-shirt that’s in the guest quarters. Then I head for the mess hall.

I hear voices talking as I get closer. I peer around the corner and see John Stewart talking with another man. This new man almost looks like a machine, I’ve never seen such a full rebuilding of a person before. John sees me and waves me over. “Pyrrha! Couldn’t sleep? Have a seat, I’ll get you some of Cyborg’s sandwiches!”

I smile as I make my way to the table and sit at the head with John’s seat on my right and Cyborg on my left. “Thank you Green Lantern, Cyborg, I hope I’m not intruding.”

Cyborg smiles and waves me off. “No worries, I’m glad to meet you, call me Victor, and that’s John. You can call us by our first names up here, no press to worry about.”

“Thank you Victor, I’m grateful to all of you for helping me. I’m not sure what I would have done if Diana hadn’t picked me up from the hospital.”

John returns with the promised sandwiches. “Don’t worry about it Pyrrha, we’re heroes, it’s what we do.”

I smile and take a bite, relishing the taste, so much better than hospital food. “These are great Victor, thank you for making them.”

“If you think that’s good you need to try New York pizza sometime. It will blow your mind!”

“Well since I’m stuck here it seems, I may have time to try everything.”

Victor cups his chin in his hand. “Stuck here huh? That has to suck. Well, you’ll always have a home here Pyrrha, if what John says is true you’re a hero alright. Fighting a giant bear-monster in melee with nothing but a sword and shield? That’s bad ass!”

I smile and shake my head. “I lost my weapons before I was thrown into this world. I miss them, but I’m sure I can rebuild them with enough time and materials.”

Victor grins at me. “Let you be more of a bad ass? I’m game, write up a list and I’ll see what I can do to get them for you.”

“I may take you up on that. Though, from what I understand I will have to rework the ammunition from dust (which you don’t have) to something else. What do the guns in this world fire if not concentrated elemental energy?”

Victor raises his eyebrow. “Concentrated elemental energy? No wonder you’re not staring at my enhancements. Nah, the guns our people use fire slugs of lead or other suitably dense metal. I can send some specs over to the computer in your room, see if you can adapt it to whatever weapon you were thinking about making.”

“Thank you Victor, I appreciate that. I may not make it a gun, it seems this world has less need for lethal options than my own.”

John nods. “Doesn’t stop us from trying though, plenty of people killing each other. Some of them are even supposed to be protecting people, but you look like me or Victor and the cops get twitchy.”

“I don’t think your outfits look _that_ scary, why would they panic at the sight of you? Is it your abilities that make them nervous? But you’re both heroes, surly they recognize their champions?”

Victor and John share a look. “You for real?” Victor asks. “If we were on the ground, a couple of black dudes talking to a pretty redheaded teenager would have the cops poking around. They not have racism where you’re from?”

I shake my head. “We have bigots, but they focus on the faunus, they could care less what your skin color is. But you have some bunny ears or a dog’s tail and they will ridicule you and worse. I don’t like it, and I wish I could change more minds, it’s narrow minded and cruel.”

Victor grimaces. “Same crap different planet eh? Figures. I better hit the sack though, I hope you get some sleep Pyrrha.”

John stands up. “I should rest too, big day tomorrow, have a good night Pyrrha.”

“Thank you both, and thanks for talking with me, and for the sandwiches!”

They smile as they leave. Left alone I head to the computerized library Diana showed my earlier. I browse through the archive, looking for the best way to make a less lethal version of Milo, my old sword/spear. Ah, electricity seems to be the prevailing method of non-lethal defense. I could easily replace the ranged components with a electrical generator in the hilt, that should give me an option for deescalation. I’ll see if Victor has anything compact and powerful enough, if anyone would, it’d be a man with that many synthetic augments. I check the time, and sigh as I head back to bed. Here’s hoping I don’t get more nightmares.

\------------------------------------------------------

_“I have to say I’m impressed by her Bats, she made that new sword-spear thing herself, the shield too. Some kind of alloying process she used with her abilities gives her exceptional control over them.”_

_“I know, it worries me.”_

_“Worries you? You still don’t trust her? Come on man, she’s got the stuff and she’s done nothing but offer help since she got here.”_

_“What worries me is that she says she was in training, whatever sent her here could come to check on her. And I don’t like the idea of something more powerful than her attacking us.”_

_“Always cheerful aren’t you?”_

\-----------------------------------------------

“Alright Pyrrha, let’s see what you can really do!” Aquaman jumps towards me, a smile on both our faces. I roll out of the way and stab at him from range with my spear, our weapons having equal reach. He tries to catch and twist my spear out of my hand with his trident, I faint getting it caught and shrink the weapon down to sword form, while closing the distance. At this range he’ll have trouble hitting me with it. He drops his weapon and grabs my shield, trying to just pry it away from me as he punches in past my guard.

I jump forward, using his own pull at my shield as a aid, I flip over his head and hold my blade to his neck as I land on the other side of him. He grabs my sword with his bare hand, the edge not even cutting him. “You’ll have to do better than that kid!” I do. I activate the electric field in both weapons, he’s resistant but not immune. I’d never have tried this with Nora, that would have ended in a crater.

He spasms and falls to his knees, I deactivate the generators and step back from him. “Ugh, nice! Like hugging an electric eel! Nice trick kid! Next time let’s spar in the water, that should be more fun for me!” He gets up like he wasn’t just being electrocuted a few seconds ago. If I didn’t know better I’d say he had an aura protecting him.

I bow and smile at him. “It was nice training with you, you are a great warrior, your people must be glad to have you to protect them!”

He laughs. “You’re like a mini-Wonder Woman, can’t wait to see what you’ll be like in a few years. Speaking of, Diana! Come to take your brat off my hands?”

Diana narrows her eyes at him. “She is no ones ‘brat’ she is a proud warrior and should be treated with respect!” She looks stern, then she breaks into a smile and pulls him into a hug, which he returns. “Good to see you, is Atlantis fairing well? And how is Mera doing?”

They pull out of the hug. “I’m happy to say that both the city and Mera are doing great. She’s running things while I’m up here with my head in the clouds.”

“Above the clouds, we’re in space remember?”

He laughs. “Right! I’ll let you ladies catch up. Thanks again for the workout Pyrrha!”

I smile and wave him goodbye. “It was my pleasure!”

Diana walks up to me and nods at my new armament. “I see you were able to reforge your weapons. What can they do?”

I’m all too happy to explain. “Well, my new sword-spear has a electric generator which can be used to help subdue an opponent. Then the shield also carries the same ability, meaning I can subdue with both weapons at once. I also added these coils of steel cables to my hips, they should help me restrain people without hurting them. Without an aura my old way of fighting could prove quite lethal. And I don’t want that.”

Diana smiles at me. “These will do nicely, they suit you Pyrrha Nikos, may they serve you well. Any word on you being able to go home? It’s been weeks.”

I shake my head. “I’ve asked Barry every night if he’s made progress. He’s nice about it, but I think I’m beginning to annoy him. The Ursa killed itself, but thankfully our precautions held, and it congealed inside the enclosure. Now it’s just a pool of darkness, Barry is keeping the energy barriers up, just in case.”

Diana nods. “Barry mentioned that I should probably find you a home on Earth. Chances are you’re stuck here forever Pyrrha, you have my sympathy, and my aid, should you need it.”

I sit down on one of the benches in the training room. I knew this was likely, Barry has been kind, but it’s clear that even if we knew exactly how I got here, that sending me back would be too risky to attempt. I see a tear hit my lap before my vision blurs. I’ll never see Jaune again. I’ll never get to see if Nora and Ren ever realize who they are to each other. I’ll never see my family again, never be able to atone for Penny’s death. I’ll never know if Cinder is defeated. I can only hope, and trust in my friends.

Diana sits next to me and holds me close, stroking my hair. “I know Pyrrha, I too mourned when I left my home behind. I left by choice, but knowing I could never get back there, that I can never see Themyscira again hurt me. It still does.” I look over at her and see her eyes are shining with her own tears. “I won’t lie to you Pyrrha, the pain of that loss will never go away. All we can do is honor our home, honor those that helped make us who we are, and will be in the future.”

I nod in understanding. “There was a boy. He’s a dork and came to Beacon without knowing nearly enough to survive initiation, let alone combat with the Grimm. But when I unlocked his aura for him? He shown so brightly, there was no question in my mind that he was destined to be a hero. I started training him, and he improved. His drive, his sense of right and wrong are what drive him. I…” My throat gets stiff. “I love him so much! And now I can never see his smile! I’ll never get to see him become the hero I know he can be!”

Diana just pulls me close, lets me cry all over her. She doesn’t tell me to stop, doesn’t try and shush me. She lets me cry and cry, like I’ve needed to for so long. I cry for Jaune, I cry for Penny, I cry for Ruby, I cry for Nora and Ren, I cry for myself, and I cry for all the people I failed. Then there are no more tears, and still I sob. And still Diana holds me close, not saying a word, just being there.

\----------------------------------------------

_“Nice of you to set up that cover ID for her Bruce. Not sure she’ll be able to keep a secret identity though, with her scars.”_

_“I know, but she deserves the chance at a normal life. Losing her home, everything she thought was permanent? I can relate.”_

_“You’re a real softy under that cowl aren’t you?”_

_“I don’t like to advertise Flash.”_

\------------------------------------------------

“So my cover is as a Canadian student? What’s a Canadian?”

Diana smiles at me as we unpack my things into the small but comfortable apartment Batman set up for me. “It’s the country bordering the northern part of the USA, which is where we are, specifically National City, California. California is the state we’re in right now.”

I close the dresser drawer and catch myself in the mirror, my scar obvious, but no longer red. Its taken on a white hue, lighter than the rest of my face. “Okay, so why place me here? Of all the cities I could be in, why this one? And so far from where I came into this world?”

“This city was chosen because it’s fairly calm as far as meta-human events go. That it’s far from where you came into this world is coincidental. We’re still working on a way to get you home Pyrrha, believe that.”

I sigh and cross my arms. “I know that, and I appreciate it. I just wish I could remember how I got here. All I remember is feeling like I died.” I rub the scar on my chest through my dress.

Diana nods. “I understand, you want to take control of your destiny. Like you did that night. But perhaps your destiny no longer resides in where you came from, but rather here, in this world.”

“I’d like to believe that. That I have a purpose here.” I smile. “Though I doubt it’s in, what was it? Track and field?”

Diana chuckles. “Perhaps not, but it is a good cover given how strong you are. I know it may seem silly to keep your abilities hidden, but it is good to have a life outside of heroics.”

I nod. “I’m familiar with the concept. Back home very few people knew my semblance was polarity (the control of magnetism). Keeping it hidden gave me an edge in duels, the same can be said for being a hero now. Although, with my scars I doubt I’ll be able to hide my identity very well.”

“You would be surprised at how the people of this world don’t notice such things. To them Wonder Woman is a figure of power, one that could not possibly be Diana Prince, artifact curator.”

We hear a knock on the door and I jump, not expecting visitors so soon. Diana nods for me to open the door, like a mother urging her child to be brave. I smooth my dress and open the door, outside is a short young woman, dark of skin with blue hair that is shaved completely off on her left side, and she has a nose ring. “Hello.” I say, caught a bit off guard by her style, looking at the rest of her, it’s no less exotic. She’s wearing a tight black tank top that doesn’t cover her belly, which has a ring in it as well, a green skirt equally tight, and black boots that go up to her knees.

She smiles at me and holds out her hand. “Hi! I hear we’re going to be neighbors, I’m Megan Moore, but you can just call me Megan, it’s nice to meet you Pyrrha!”

I shake myself out of shock and take her hand, she has a surprisingly strong grip for her small frame. “Likewise. Have you been in the city long? I’m a bit overwhelmed, this place isn’t like anywhere I’ve been back home.”

She nods. “You’ll get used to it. I’ve been here for a year and I love it! It’s a lot warmer than I’m used to, but I make the best of it. I couldn’t dream of getting away with this outfit back home!”

I feel my face heat up a little. “Well it’s good it’s warm here, if it were cold showing that much skin could be chilly.” Megan smiles at me and I get a weird fluttering in my belly, I hear Diana cough behind me, I jump, I forgot she was here. “Oh, right, where are my manners. Megan, this is my aunt Diana, she’s helping me get settled in here.”

Diana steps forward, extending her hand to Megan. “It is nice to meet you Megan, I hope you and my niece will be good friends and look out for each other.”

Megan takes her hand and grins. “Oh I think we’re going to get along great!” She looks back and forth between us. “Dang, is everyone in your family this tall and buff? I’m surprised you made it through customs with those guns!”

Diana laughs, I feel myself blush. “Pyrrha, I like this girl! Keep her close. You’re not bad yourself Megan, do you also do sports like my niece?”

Megan shakes her head. “Pft, no! I’m studying to be a social worker or guidance councilor. Maybe a psychologist if I can get my grades up. I just workout.” She flexes her arms, showcasing her lean muscle. “I like being fit, and it doesn’t hurt my love life either, Plenty of guys and girls love it.” She winks at me, making me blush for sure. Damn it Pyrrha! Now is not the time. You’ve just lost Jaune, jumping into a relationship like that now is a bad idea. Best to just be friends with Megan.

I shake myself back to reality. “W-well thanks for dropping by! We’re still unpacking, if you’d like we can meet up later and get to know each other.”

She smiles and I think I see mischief in her dark eyes. “Oh, I’m sure we’ll get to know each other _really_ well Pyrrha.” She hands me a small piece of paper. “That’s my number, feel free to text me whenever. I’m just down the hall in 21b.” She winks again and I swear she struts out of my apartment, she tosses her curly hair over her shoulder as she turns down the hall, a grin on her face, like she knows where my mind went.

I shake myself as I finally get back to reality. What was that? “Well, she seemed nice.” I say, to fill the awkward silence that is Diana grinning at me, like she read my mind too. Damn it, am I that easy to read?

“Oh yes, very nice. She made you feel… Warm, you know?” She winks at me and I hide my face in my hands. Ugh! No! It’s too soon, I’m still not over Jaune, I need time to heal from that loss damn it!

“Diana, you know I just lost Jaune, it’s too soon for that kind of thing. I just want her to be my friend right now. A very flirty friend who wears skimpy outfits, but a friend none the less.”

She holds up her hands. “Very well, you’re right of course, I’m sorry, I wasn’t thinking about your boy back home.” She puts a hand on my shoulder. “But part of having a normal life here, if you want that, is finding new love. It won’t mean that your love for Jaune was any less real, he’ll always have a special place in your heart. When you’re ready, don’t feel guilty for finding love here. Anyone who loves you will understand you moving on, as long as you don’t forget them.”

I feel a tear roll down my face. “Thank you. I still need time, but I will try and remember that moving on doesn’t mean forgetting them.”

\----------------------------------------------

_“You checked out that Pyrrha chick yet? Total babe, shame about her face, she’d be a ten without that scar.”_

_“Oh, you noticed her scar? And here I thought you were too focused on her breasts to look at her face. Why am I friends with you again?”_

_“I’m hurt that you think me so shallow. I mean I am, but it still hurts. And we’re friends because I’m just that awesome.”_

_“Jesus Christ dude, you just admit it like that? Whatever, Pyrrha deserves better than you anyway. She gets along with everyone, even that weird Megan chick.”_

_“Yeah, what’s with her? Doesn’t she know that goths are a white girl thing?”_

_“That’s racist dude.”_

_“Whatever.”_

\--------------------------------------------------

“Great job out there today Pyrrha! You should think about going pro!” I smile at Megan’s praise of me as I exit the locker room, having freshly showered and put on my normal clothes.

“Thank you Megan. I’m hungry, want to go get some lunch? My treat.”

Megan grins at me. “You spoil me, you know I can’t pass up free food!”

I giggle as Megan drags me to her favorite restaurant on campus. We order our meals and get seated outside, I love how beautiful it is here. And I get to observe how people behave in public. I see a couple leaning into each other and I smile, even with the pang of loss I feel. It’s nice to see love, even if it isn’t mine. “You’re getting that look again!” I see Megan staring at me, I feel my face heat up and look away.

“What look? I don’t know what you mean.” Oh how I do know what she means.

As I look back at her she rolls her eyes. “Puh-leeze! You are a beautiful young woman, who is clearly aching for romance! You need to get out there and date somebody girl! It’s not healthy to keep pining like this!”

I know she’s right, but I still feel like I’m betraying Jaune somehow, feeling like I do. I know it’s been a few months since I came to this world, but it still feels like a fresh wound in my soul. “It’s complicated Megan. I lost someone back home, someone close. I don’t know if I’m ready to move on yet. Just, let me take my time okay?”

She sighs. “Okay, I’ll drop it. But remember, I’m not usually single for this long.” She winks at me and grins. Damn her. I don’t even get the dignity of a retort as our food is brought out.

As our waiter leaves I point an accusing fork at her. “You are the worst. Truly.”

She just grins. “And you love me for it!” She takes a big bite out of her burger and I sigh as I get to work on my chicken salad. Damn her cute face.

\------------------------------------------

We’re walking home and Megan gets a serious look on her face. “Feel free to not answer if it’s too personal, but how did you get your scars?” She looks panicky when I don’t answer right away. “Oh, god that was so rude! Hello Megan! Don’t ask stuff like that!”

I gently pat her shoulder. “It’s okay Megan, you can ask me anything. I was beginning to wonder if you were blind, you always call me beautiful.”

She shakes her head. “Because you are! Your scars just show how strong you are! And that just makes you more special!”

I chuckle and sigh as I bump into her companionably. “Thank you for saying that. To answer you, I was attacked. I was trying to help save some people from this evil woman. She stabbed me.” I touch my chest. “And burned me. Then she left me for dead. I don’t know if they ever found her. Sometimes I see her face when I’m asleep.”

I look over at Megan and her eyes are full of tears. “Pyrrha…”

I wipe away a tear on her cheek. “It’s okay, I don’t regret a thing. I did what I thought was right.”

She shakes her head. “It is not okay! You were trying to help people and she burned your face and left you for dead! I’m so sorry for bringing it up Pyrrha, I thought it was an accident or something.”

Megan starts sobbing and I pull her to a bench and we hug each other her head resting on my shoulder. I rest my head on hers. I start crying too, it’s nice to have someone care so much. To have a friend, or maybe something more. Someday. “Shh, you didn’t do anything wrong Megan. You have a kind soul.”

She coughs a short laugh and hugs me closer. “T-thank you Pyrrha, you’re really nice. You never judged me for how I look, and I appreciate that.”

I chuckle and rub her shoulder. “To be fair, you go out of your way to look as weird as possible.” She pulls out of the hug looking fake offended, I put my finger to her lips to stop her coming retort. “But I like that about you, you aren’t afraid to dress however you like, and flirt with whomever you like. I wish I had your courage.” Her eyes go wide and her cheeks have taken on a red hue. I feel my own face heat up as I realize that I’m touching her lips with my finger. I pull it back and turn away from her.

She takes my hand in hers and I look at her, nothing but kindness on her face. “You’re the brave one Pyrrha. You’ve been hurt so badly, and yet your primary concern is always other people. Hell you got hurt because you cared about other people. I can’t think of anything braver, or more beautiful than that.”

I jump when my phone rings, I move to shut it off but I see there’s a message from Diana on it. “I’m sorry Megan I have to check this, it’s from Diana, my aunt.”

She nods and pats my shoulder as she stands up. “Okay, if you need to talk, don’t hesitate. I live just down the hall.” I feel terrible as she walks away, her shoulders slumped, but Diana wouldn’t send me a message unless it was urgent.

I go to the text screen and there’s a simple message. “Downtown. Now.” That’s all it says but she sent an image and there’s a beast attacking downtown National City. Damn it!

\----------------------------------------------

I’m glad I was able to get Batman to rig my weapons and armor into a rocket locker, it saves me the trouble of heading anywhere to get my gear. I don my armor in an alley. I hear Diana battling just down the street. I take a breath, then slip on my new helmet (which covers the top of my face) and head out to fight at her side. The beast she’s fighting is massive, with multiple heads on its scaly body. “Wonder Woman I’m here! What is this thing?” I yell as I move to engage, shoving a woman away from a swipe of the beast’s tail, narrowly saving her life.

“Golden Girl! Good! This thing is a Hydra, whatever you do, do not sever its heads!” Diana jumps out of the way as one of the heads vomits green sludge at her, the ground where it hits starts to burn and melt. It breathes acid, great.

No chopping it to pieces? Fine. I rush forward, it swipes a claw at me. I jump and land on top of its palm, before it can crush me I jump again, using the momentum of its arm I’m able to get near one of the heads. I slam my shield into its face and zap it with electricity. It howls in pain as I then stab my sword into its neck to remain on top of it, jolting it again with the generator in my blade. I feel the beast sigh and I ride the neck down, I pull my sword and dismount, rolling as I hit the ground I turn to face the beast, expecting it to be defeated.

It is not. I raise my shield just in time to catch one of the other heads. I activate its generator again and it reels back, I notice Diana is busy with the remaining two heads, tying them together with her lasso. My head turns to deal with Diana, I can’t let that happen. I send out my coils of steel cables, they’re too short and thin to restrain something this big, but they can absolutely draw its attention. Especially when I hit it in the eyes.

While its reeling I rush forward again, jumping into the air I throw my shield ahead of me. Then I land on it, using my semblance to hold it steady I launch myself from it, aiming myself at the beasts last active head. It tries to turn and swallow me, but Diana pulls its neck down and I land on the top of its head. I stab down into its skull, the electric blade causes it to have a seizure and I ride it down to the ground, rolling off of it when we land.

I hear a cheer go up from the crowd (why didn’t they run?) and I smile at a job well done. “Wonder Woman, are you alright?” I ask, she seems fine, if a little battle worn.

She nods her head. “I am well, how are you? A Hydra is no small thing to fight.”

I pick up my shield and will my cables back to me. “I’ve had worse days, certainly. Will the Justice League be able to handle this from here?”

Diana nods again. “I’ll see to it Golden Girl, you head on home, I’ll let you know if I need more help. Thank you for coming. Oh, and be careful when cleaning your weapons, Hydra blood is both toxic and corrosive.”

“Understood. I will take care to clean them with caution.” Now to deal with the reporters I suppose. There’s a crowd of them right in my way back to the rocket locker.

_“Golden Girl! Are you officially Wonder Woman’s sidekick? Do you specialize in giant monsters? What’s with the new helmet? Is the helmet to hide your scars?”_

I sigh. “I’m just another hero trying to protect people from that which they cannot protect themselves. My face is my own business, I’m choosing to hide it for now to keep those I care about safe, much like Batman and the Flash hide their faces.”

_“Is it true the Justice League is running a secret prison in outer space? Where does the Justice League keep these monsters they fight? Who’s footing the bill? What brand of lipstick do you use?”_

I shake my head. “I can’t answer any questions about the League, I’m not a full member, just a woman trying to make a difference. I don’t see how I paint my lips as being relevant at all, do you? If that’s all the serious questions I’ll kindly take my leave, I’m sure you have families to get back to.”

I stride past them to a chorus of “Golden Girl!” questions, most involving dating and makeup, much as Diana warned me about. I stack dumpsters in the alley to hold them off while I gather my things. Then it’s a simple matter to ride the rocket locker to a distant roof and change back into my civilian outfit.

\--------------------------------------------

_“There you have it folks, the enigmatic Golden Girl saves the day with Wonder Woman once again. While little is known about her, she still has a small and dedicated following on social media.”_

\--------------------------------------------

I sigh as I close my apartment door behind me. That was exhausting, I pushed myself hard at school, then had to fight a powerful creature of this world. Not an easy day. I’m about to sit down on my couch and relax to some broadcast entertainment when I hear a knock on my door. I sigh again as I go to see who it is.

I smile when I see Megan holding up a bag of takeout and wearing a loose t-shirt and pajama bottoms. “Hey girl! Thought you could use this after your workout today. I know you ate already, but I figure a the Hydra drained you pretty good.” She grins at me as my jaw drops. I pull her inside as she giggles.

I look her right in the eyes. “How? How do you know what I can do? What I’ve done?”

She seems to see my panicking and stops grinning. “Pyrrha, it’s okay, your secret is safe with me. I’m just glad I’m not the only one with a secret around here is all.” She glows for a second and then she’s transformed into a green skinned humanoid, hairless and slightly taller than she was before. “See? I’m an alien, from Mars.” She turns back into her “normal” form and frowns at me. “You okay? I know it’s a lot to take in, we’re still friends right?”

I shake myself and head to the couch and plop down, I gesture for Megan to do the same. She seems to take that as a positive and sets about putting the takeout food on the coffee table. It looks like Mystral takeout, but it must be called something else here. Megan is looking worried again. Oh, I haven’t said anything. Right. She looks really nervous now, like she’s waiting for lightning to strike. I shake my head. “Sorry Megan, I just wasn’t expecting that. Of course we’re friends, your secret is safe with me too.”

She relaxes and sighs in relief. “Good! I was worried for a minute! This is like, my fifth identity I’ve made for myself. It sucks having people freak out over me not being human, but at least my shape-shifting lets me move on easily.”

I take a bowl of noodles and meat. “Fifth identity? You’ve had to run away from bigots that many times? I’m so sorry Megan, you’re a lovely person and don’t deserve that.”

She blushes and takes her own food. “Flatterer! You’re making me blush, so rude!”

I grin and take a bite, and wink as I swallow. “I’m such a terrible person, I know. And here you brought me dinner and I’m being such a jerk, calling you a nice person and thinking you’re pretty cute when you blush.”

She slaps my leg. “Stop it! Oh my gods! Don’t make me think things you’re not going to follow through on.” She looks down a little sadly, her smile fading.

I place my hand on her shoulder. “Megan. I mean every word. I really care about you, this past week has been the best I’ve had since getting injured.” She looks up at me with hope in her eyes, I hold up a finger. “I still have things I need to figure out Megan. Things from my past I’m not sure I can let go of yet. Things that could cause me to hurt you, however unintentionally. I don’t ever want to hurt you, that would break my heart.”

She starts tearing up. “Pyrrha…” She sniffs and looks away. “Damn it, I need a tissue!” She gets up and grabs a paper towel from the kitchenette. “Ugh, you’re such a sap! Enough crying! Lets just eat the Chinese before it gets cold okay? Turn on the TV or something.”

I smile and nod, I grab the remote and activate the TV. _“-this is the tenth such event in the United States in the past month. The reason for the increase in monster attacks is still unknown, as no person or organization is taking credit for these attacks. Scientists are baffled, all they do know is that ever since Golden Girl captured the Bone-Bear, there have been more monster attacks. The League has refused to comment on any connection between Golden Girl and these monster attacks.”_

I stare at the TV in shock, I turn and see Megan looking equally worried. “They think you’re causing these monsters to attack? That’s ridiculous!”

Not me, the Ursa, could it be sending out a malignant signal from it’s holding cell? It’s nothing but goo now, but perhaps this is instinctive, it’s trying to free itself to ravage, so it’s calling other monsters from this world to try and free it… And all these monsters are being held by the League in the Watchtower. Right where it is! “Oh no, I have to- I’m sorry Megan, I need to do something now!”

She nods and promises to lock up for me. I call Diana, she picks up on the third agonizing ring as I run for our rendezvous point. “Hello Pyrrha, calling to check up on our Hydra? John is taking it to the Watchtower as we speak.”

I shake my head. “You have to take it somewhere else! I think the essence of the Ursa is up to something. How many monsters are being held at the Watchtower right now? Are they contained?”

Diana sounds worried when she replies. “Eight. They’re in heavy confinement of course, but I’m concerned by the reports from Batman about how restless they are In their cages. Barry insists they can’t break free, but if they did…” It would be a disaster. “I’m going to pick you up now, I can’t get a direct comm up to the Watchtower. I fear we may be too late!”

I nod. “I’m almost at the rendezvous point, I’ll be in my gear by the time you get here!”

“Understood. Wonder Woman out.”

I pray we’re not too late.

\------------------------------------------------

_“One Hydra ready for- ARGH!”_

\------------------------------------------------

“That’s not good, I’m just getting the standard locator beacon from the Watchtower. None of the beasts we’ve captured can survive in space, so they can’t escape, but neither can most of the League. And if Green Lantern got taken down… Be on your guard Golden Girl, we may be all that’s left of the League.”

I feel a familiar sense of dread, this feels like the attack on Beacon all over again. Again, I’m throwing myself into a situation I helped cause, however unintentional. _I won’t fail you again my friends, this time I_ will _save the day._ “Take us in, I’m ready.”

Wonder Woman nods and takes us inside, the airship’s lights and the emergency lighting are the only things on once we’re in the hanger. She opens the canopy and I hear the plates of the station creaking, straining under some unknown stress. “Stay by my side, we don’t know how many monsters may have escaped, or how many allies we still have. Keep an eye out for both.”

I nod. “Understood.” We move slowly, deliberately, the only sounds are our boots and the distant groans of the metal plates of the station. As we make our way through the station we start to see signs of battle. Holes in the walls, acid dripping from some, the disturbing sight of blood on others.

We enter a new corridor, the one that leads to the library, when a loud squeal makes me jump. A voice then comes in, sounding weary through the static. _“Wonder -zert- is -hat- you? I- -maint- -can you- -me? Power runin- -can’t maint- -corrupted- -stop them- -godspee-.”_ The barely recognizable voice of Batman stops.

Diana takes a breath. “Bruce…” She grips her weapons tighter. “Come! We need to get to the power core, I suspect that is where we can do the most good.”

I nod and we make our way faster through the station. Knowing that the League is still alive adds urgency to our mission. As we move forward there is a loud tearing sound and a roar of some beast ahead. Diana and I share a look, then nod. We rush forward, I see the shadowy form of a winged beast clawing at the power core’s door. I convert my weapon to its spear form and move in behind Diana as we charge, the beast screeches in pain as Diana’s blade and my spear pierce its flesh. We can’t afford to take them alive this time.

It turns and rakes its claws at us, I parry it with my shield, roll with the hit, and stab for its neck, striking it just below its curved beak. Diana has sliced a wing off of its back, it opens its mouth in pain, silent as it falls forward. One down.

Diana moves to the doorway and starts trying to pry it open. “Hello! Is anyone alive in there?” She yells as she pulls. I concentrate my semblance on the doors and Diana stumbles as they slide open in a rush. She nods to me before turning back to the power room. “Hello! Are you alright?!”

We enter the room and I’m shocked by the carnage before us, blood covers everything, the remains of several beasts litter the floor and consoles. It’s only when I see him move that I notice Aquaman is here. He grins at us, a large gash in his chest, and blood in his teeth. “Ladies! *cough* glad you could make it! I got three of them! What’s your kill count?”

Diana rushes to a first aid box on one of the walls, I rush to Aquaman’s side. “Don’t joke! You need medical treatment, even as strong as you are.”

He coughs. “I’m fine, it’s just a flesh wound.”

Diana makes a tutting sound with her tongue. “So is a clean stab to the heart. Hold still while I bandage you. Any word on the others?”

He grunts as Diana puts disinfectant on his chest. “Ugh! Flash is ground side, he left about an hour after Bats took over monitor duty. Green Lantern is alive but injured, Cyborg has him in medical I think. I came here to defend the core, but the damn beasts made a mess of it before I got here. Bats is in C&C trying to restore systems. I should have stayed with John, I’m not good with computers. We need Cyborg down here.”

“John was taken out of the fight? Is the Hydra loose as well?”

He shakes his head. “No, last thing he did before going down was spacing it. Should be a pretty fireball from the ground in a day or so.”

Diana nods. “Good. Pyrrha, I’m going to take Aquaman to the medical bay. I need you to stand guard here until I get back with Cyborg.” She salutes me, like when we met, her hand over her heart. “Hold the line until I return.”

I nod and return the salute. “I will, once you’re gone I’ll lock the doors behind you with my semblance.”

Aquaman stumbles to a standing position. “Good idea. Just watch out, some of the monsters are skinny enough to fit into the vents.”

I nod. “I will be wary. Go, I can do this.”

Diana quickly nods. “I know you can Pyrrha. I will return soon.” She puts Aquaman’s arm over her shoulders and helps him out of the room. I close the doors behind them. I look around the room, illuminated only by the glow of the reactor and the emergency lighting. Okay Pyrrha, time to get to work.

\-----------------------------------------------

_“You sure about *cough* leaving her alone back there? Some of these monsters…”_

_“She can handle it. I believe in her.”_

\-----------------------------------------------

Okay. Barricades? Check. Weapons? Armed and ready. Okay, you can do this Pyrrha. I get tense as the groans of the station start to grow louder. It’s ominous, especially with me being surrounded by gore and red lighting. I’ll say this for the Grimm back home, at least they’re tidy. The floor is slick in places, a fight in here could be dangerous with the lack of grip. Again the groans grow louder, and I hear something that sounds like scraping. Is a monster on the way? I ready myself, keeping an ear out.

The noises keep getting closer, now a clanking sound is added to the orchestra of dread. I look around at the vents, then I hear the loudest bang yet, one of the vents is clanking loudly. I turn to face it, spear and shield at the ready. It bows out with each hit, the unknown beast slamming into it. Suddenly it breaks and the head of a giant snake comes through, followed quickly by the rest of it. It’s hard to tell how big it is in the gloom, at least twenty feet long. It raises its head, the skin flattens on either side of it, showing it is some kind of giant cobra.

It looks right at me, I crouch down and ready myself for its strike. It opens its mouth and I narrowly dodge out of the way as a stream of venom issues forth. A giant spitting cobra, lovely. It lunges at me, I quickly jump out of the way and block it with my shield as it passes me. I switch to the sword and take a slice at the beast’s flesh as I land. It’s a glancing blow, its scales are thick and smooth, not an easy thing to pierce.

It’s turning towards me again, time to change tactics. It lunges at me again and I throw my sword into its mouth activating the generator with my semblance. The reaction is immediate when the sword gets swallowed, it jerks in response, writhing in agony. I focus and start slicing away at the inside of it with my sword, it’s random but I can see it’s working, the cobra is simply thrashing about as I carve it out from the inside. I see my sword pierce the outer skin and I push it the rest of the way out and return it to me, ready to fight if the cobra wants to continue the battle.

I feel a pang of guilt as the cobra continues to writhe, it no longer seems to be thinking of attack, only its own pain. I can’t stand by while it suffers like this. I take my bloody sword and leap at its head, slamming down I focus my body and semblance, its just enough to pierce the skull, it stops moving, finally, mercifully, dead.

“Golden Girl! You okay in there? We came as fast as we could!” I hear Cyborg say through the barely open doorway to my right. Cyborg and Wonder Woman come through, Cyborg looks at the body of the snake then back to me. “You killed that by yourself? With a sword, shield and some magnet powers?”

I shrug. “It’s no worse than King Taijitu back home. At least this cobra didn’t have a second head to deal with.”

He shakes his head that goes to the reactor. “Remind me never to travel to your world, it sounds rough.” He looks over the readouts and controls, he starts imputing commands. “I think I can get the reactor back online, you two head up to containment. Once the reactor is back in working order, Batman should be able to reestablish communications and we can deal with your damn Grimm from there.”

I shake my head. “My Grimm? What happened? Last I heard it was an inert puddle in the containment cell.”

Diana taps my arm and gestures for me to follow. “I will explain on the way.” I nod as I follow.

Cyborg hollers after us. “Keep safe! My sensors indicate there are two more beasts protecting the Grimm still!”

We yell our thanks behind us as I lock the doors to the reactor. Diana nods for me to follow as she starts to explain what’s happening. “The Grimm is no longer just a puddle, it spawned something. It apparently looks like a jellyfish, and emanates psionic energy. To what end we don’t know, it doesn’t seem to effect humans, but the beasts we have up here are drawn to it like a beacon.”

I nod. “That lines up with my concern about the increase in monster attacks on this world. Even if we win and take back the Watchtower we’ll still be dealing with a potential global threat of giant monster attacks on Earth.”

The lights come on and there’s a loud screech as the com system comes back online. “Wonder Woman, Golden Girl! Do you read me? The Flash has a solution, he’s headed back up now, you two just need to buy time and keep the Grimm contained! Batman out!”

Diana nods to me. “You heard him, we need to keep that thing contained.” We increase our speed, then we burst through into the containment area. I barely have time to make out what we’re dealing with before I’m dodging out of the way of a fire blast. Dragons, just in case I wasn’t already having flashbacks. I move behind the cover of a desk, when did the League capture dragons? I feel the the metal of the desk start to heat up and I move to new cover.

“Diana! What do we do? I can’t get close with all this fire!” Another blast comes at me and I catch it with my shield as I dodge out of the way again. I’m breathing is heavy and my vision blurs, I try and focus on slowing my breath, but I keep having to dodge more fire which just makes me panic more. I’m losing it, I can’t do this, I’m going to die! I jump back through the door and shut it behind me, locking the dragons away from me.

Locking Diana in with them! No! I move to open the doors again when Diana comes flying backwards through them, I dodge out of the way and focus my semblance on slowing her down. She lands, cocks her head to the side and smiles. She jumps back into the room, I hear the dragons scream as she attacks them. I take a deep breath, my heart racing. _You can do this Pyrrha, you aren’t alone, not this time._

I rush back in, I see Diana has one of the dragons on the defensive, the other is breathing deep, readying a blast of fire at her. I throw my shield and guide it with my semblance, lodging it in its mouth. When the fire erupts from it, the shield redirects it back into its mouth. It starts choking on its own flames as I maneuver around to its side and stab it where the heart should be, right between its scales. It falls to the ground in unison with Diana’s, hers having its neck snapped by her lasso.

I hear a clicking from my side, we’ve fought our way to the Grimm’s containment cell. I step back in horror, it’s massive, it looks like a jellyfish only in the way the Ursa looked like a bear. It’s black body is transparent, a glowing red core pulses with menace, and it has tendrils that are trying to expand on the hole the dragons managed to make in the glass. The clicking sound keeps going, faster, like it’s angry and wants to destroy everything. There is no sign of the pool at the center of the cell, whatever this thing is, is the entirety of the Grimm we’ve fought already.

“Pyrrha, are you alright? That fight must have been difficult for you.” I turn to see Diana looking at me in concern. I look down at my hands and they’re shaking, after effect of the battle, I feel my body start to sag, this has been a long day. “I can take it from here, I just need to keep this thing from opening a big enough hole to escape.”

I nod as I take a seat on the claw of the dragon, my body too tired to panic anymore. There’s a boom and Flash arrives, he’s holding a device in his hand, glowing with a weird energy. “I can fix this! I had to use Star Labs resources, but I’ve managed to make a device that should be able to send the Grimm back. Simply put it on the Grimm and it will envelop it in the same energy that sent it here, hopefully sending it back to Remnant.”

I force myself to stand and look Barry in the eye. “Can we send me with it? Get me back to my friends? My home?”

He grimaces. “Technically yes, but there’s no telling what kind of damage it would do to you on your way back. The energy levels alone could fry you from the inside before you even made it back. I haven’t figured out how to both replicate the energy and keep you from dying to it. I’m sorry.”

I nod and take the device from him, I turn to face the Grimm. It screeches at me and pokes its tentacles through the small hole, trying to kill me. In a weird way I feel kinship to it, it’s also a stranger here, alone, we’re the only ones like us here. I throw the device through the hole, it attaches to the Grimm and starts working, the glow intensifies before flashing blindingly bright. Then it’s over, the cell is empty and I’m truly alone again, nothing but my armor from my home. I’m back where I started.

Diana puts her hand on my shoulder and looks at me, like she’s proud of me, and sympathetic as well. She doesn’t say anything, she doesn’t have to. I’m not alone, I remember Megan’s smile, the laughs of my athletics team. I’m not alone, I have a place here, it doesn’t matter than I can’t go back, because I have a place here, I can do good here. “Goodbye Jaune, I’m sorry I can never go back.” I say to the place where the Grimm was. I turn to leave and Diana follows me, hand on my back as we leave the carnage behind us.

\-----------------------------------------------

_“I’ll just get the robots to clean this up then? A thank you would be nice! I just made a miracle device, not a big deal. Whatever.”_

\-----------------------------------------------

I wake up with a start, my alarm automatically going off. I groan and slap it off. I roll over and try to fall back asleep when I hear a knock on my door. Damn it, go away! I just want to sleep! I did way too much fighting yesterday! I’ve earned a rest! The knocking persists and I angrily stomp to the door and pull it open quickly, ready to shout at whomever it knocking. My shout dies in my throat when I see it’s a very worried looking Megan standing outside my door. “Pyrrha? Oh thank goodness you’re okay! I was so worried after you left!” She tackles me in a hug and I manage to shut the door as she pins me against the wall. 

I smile despite myself, I pat her back. “It’s okay Megan, I’m not leaving you. I’m right here, not going anywhere.” I pause. “Except maybe breakfast, I could eat a Goliath.”

Megan pulls out of the hug and grins at me. “I know just the place, come on!” She almost pulls me out the door before I stop her.

“Megan! I’m in my pajamas! Let me get some clothes on first.”

Her faces goes very red as she realizes she hugged me in this brief state of dress. “Oh my gods! I’m so sorry!” she turns around and covers her eyes, a bit late for that sweetie. “Go get dressed! I’ll be right here! Trying to vanish into a hole!”

I smile at how awkward she’s being, it’s nice to make someone else flustered from time to time. I pat her shoulder, making her jump adorably. “I’ll be back in a minute.” I sniff myself and grimace. “Actually I could use a shower, I still stink. Would you mind just picking me up some breakfast? We can finally have a real conversation when you get back, and I don’t smell like a dumpster.”

She turns around opening her fingers to peak out at me. “You got it! I’ll be back soon!”

I smile as she leaves. “Take your time, I may be a while in there!” I shout after her.

\-------------------------------------------------

I was a while in there, I hear Megan return as I’m finishing drying off. “I brought eggs, sausage, pancakes and waffles! You out of the shower yet?” I hear her announce, along with the sounds of her taking plates out of the cabinets.

I look around for my clothes to change into and find nothing, just my towels. Damn, forgot to grab them. I need to head to my room to get dressed. “I’m almost ready Megan! I need to head to my room for a second!” I wrap my towel around myself and exit the bathroom, I glance to the side as I quickly rush into my room. Megan’s back was turned thankfully.

I wonder why I’m being so shy around her, it’s not like I’m this way around the athletics team, or back in remnant when I’d change into my armor. I shrug out of the towel and put on a modest crimson dress made of soft cloth and head for breakfast, it smells wonderful.

Upon exiting my room I see Megan has arranged the food on the counter and has a plate of her own already piled high. She smiles at me and I smile back, It’s nice to have a friend here. I gather my food as we talk about nothing much, I sit down across from her and smile as she takes that as her queue to dig in. She looks up at me and quickly swallows, her cheeks going a little red as she smiles nervously. “What? I like this food!”

I shake my head and smile. “I’m just thinking that even if I’m truly stuck here, maybe it’s not all bad. I get to be here, with you, and I helped the Justice League prevent the deaths of thousands last night. I think that maybe I do have a place here, maybe that’s enough.”

Her smile brightens. “I’m glad you think so! Y’know I was thinking, maybe we should start our own team. The League is nice and all, but they’re a bit old and stuffy. I could be Ms. Martian, you’re the mighty Golden Girl, and I’m sure there are more young people like us that want to make a difference!”

I smile as I take a few bites of my eggs while I think about it. “Back home we typically had teams of four, you have any idea where we could pick up two more?”

She grins at me. “I might.” I grin back at her. This sounds like the start of a new adventure. I still miss Remnant and everyone there, but it won’t do anyone any good to mope about it. I may eventually make it back, but in the mean time I have a life to live here, and there are plenty of things I can do to help _this_ world while I’m here. However long that is.


End file.
